Research shows that chronic absenteeism can affect academic performance in later grades and is a key early warning sign that a student is more likely to drop out of high school. Several states enacted legislation to address this issue, and many states are currently discussing the utility of chronic absenteeism as an indicator of school quality or…

Reduce your school's dropout rate, help improve teaching and learning, and develop stronger relationships with parents and the community. This book showcases the collected efforts of dedicated educators from across the country, selected and presented by one of today's leading experts in dropout prevention, Franklin Schargel. Easily indexed…

The Virginia Board of Education's "Student Conduct Policy Guidelines" were first developed in 1994 in response to action by the 1993 General Assembly requiring the Virginia Board of Education to establish such guidelines. In 2004, the "Guidelines" underwent a major revision in response to requirements of § 22.1-279.6. of the…

For 24 consecutive years, the Public Policy Forum has compiled and analyzed data from southeastern Wisconsin's public school districts in order to better inform policymakers and the public about the effectiveness of the region's K-12 education system. This analysis of the 2009-10 academic year, like many of the previous reports, indicates cause…

The importance of school attendance in relation to achievement, engagement, and educational success has been well researched and documented. As a result, the general philosophy is that the more time students are in school, the better chance they have to be personally and academically successful. Students miss school for myriad reasons. While some…

Since the reauthorization of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; 1997) through the current reauthorization (IDEA 2004), disciplinary procedures and functional behavioral assessment (FBA) have been widely used in school districts to assist in the prevention and amelioration of problem behaviors. Although researchers have…

Strategies for preventing or responding to truancy and dropping out of school are offered in this resource paper. The document's first few pages draw on statistics from around the United States to illustrate the magnitude of the problem in terms of both its scope and its consequences. The paper then turns to its major focus, strategies to increase…

THE FOLLOWING IS THE FULL TEXT OF THIS DOCUMENT: Positive Attendance for Secondary Schools (PASS) is established to discourage pupils from absenting themselves from high school classes and/or frequently reporting late to class in violation of state law and school policies. This program shall be for pupils who exceed six truancies and/or unexcused…

A three-step plan to improve attendance at Aurora Central High School, Colorado, has successfully reduced truancies to less than 1.25 percent. Students with exemplary attendance are exempt from taking final exams; chronic truants are suspended; and all students are required to do makeup work for all absences. (MLF)

A computerized automatic dialing system that phones parents during the evening has raised the attendance rate at a Texas school to 97 percent. The system documents the numbers called, calls answered, and those unanswered, redials busy signals and unanswered numbers, and is capable of recording parent response. (MLF)

This book offers guidance on dealing with the problem of truancy and non-attendance. It provides examples of the latest ways that schools, teachers, education welfare officers, and local education authorities in the United Kingdom have worked to overcome their attendance problems, identifying 120 short-term solutions and several long-term…

THE FOLLOWING IS THE FULL TEXT OF THIS DOCUMENT: And you thought you'd tried every trick in the book to cut student absenteeism. You haven't. Now that computers have become an accepted feature in many schools' administrative offices, you might want to check out a new, computerized telephone system that six Chicago schools are using. Each of the…

Describes one family's unsuccessful experience with a minority student in a foster home situation. Schools are not equipped to handle the special problems of certain students who make up a large percentage of the dropout population. (MD)

A review of court opinions on school discipline suggests that the use of academic penalties as a sanction for student misconduct is widespread and increasing. In 12 cases during the past decade examined in this chapter, students won 5 and lost 7. In challenges of school board policies that assess academic penalties for truancy, students won in…

A review of court decisions indicates that schools may consider absence from class as a factor in overall academic evaluation and may impose academic penalties for absences due to truancy, suspension, or expulsion. However, academic penalties may not be imposed for misconduct that does not result in absence from class. (MLF)